PwC to examine possible fraud in govt coronavirus loan programme January 12, 2021 The government-owned British Business Bank (BBB) has brought on PwC to examine cases of possible fraud in its Covid-19 business loans programme. The loan programme was established to help smaller businesses impacted by coronavirus. According to website Consultancy.co.uk, BBB tapped PwC to look into possible fraud, having previously worked with the Big Four firm and [...]
Taxman snoops on 18,000 phone records and web histories January 11, 2021 HMRC made 18,464 requests to access communications data like phone records and web histories to aid its criminal investigations in 2019, according to city law firm RPC. The total number of communication requests was up slightly on 2018’s 18,263 requests. The latest available data was from 2019. The taxman can request data held by telecoms [...]
Clifford Chance appoints new executive partner and general counsel January 8, 2021 Clifford Chance has made Robin Abraham its next executive partner and general counsel after a 16 year career at the law firm. Abraham will succeed Chris Perrin, who has been in the position since 2003. Abraham will formally take up his new role at the magic circle firm on 1 May, and is already working [...]
Grant Thornton sued whopping £200m for Patisserie Valerie accounting failures January 8, 2021 Grant Thornton is being sued for £200m by the liquidators of Patisserie Valerie after the cake shop chain collapsed following suspected fraud. Liquidators FRP Advisory said Grant Thornton was negligent in the preparation and conduct of 2014 to 2017 financial statements. As a result the liquidator is suing the mid-tier audit firm for damages of [...]
Top finance bosses expect home working and taxes to increase following Covid-19 January 8, 2021 Top chief financial officers expect flexible and home working to increase post-pandemic – with a five-fold increase in home working expected by 2025, according to a survey by Deloitte. More than three-quarters (78%) of top CFOs expected Covid-19 restrictions on movement and activity to continue through the first half of 2021, but more than half [...]
HMRC issues record £28.3m fine for money laundering breaches January 7, 2021 HMRC has issued a record £28.3m fine to Luton-based business MT Global, a money transfer company. The fine is the largest ever issued by HMRC and relates to “significant” breaches of money laundering regulations between 2017 and 2019. The company was penalised for failures in carrying out risk assessments, its policies, controls and procedures, due [...]
Private equity bidders eye KPMG’s restructuring arm January 6, 2021 Private equity firms are eyeing up KPMG’s restructuring arm, as the Big Four firm prepares to offload its restructuring operations in the UK. Intermediate Capital Group and Towerbrook Capital Partners are preparing to submit initial bids for the business ahead of a deadline later this month, Sky News reported. The division is rumoured to be [...]
BDO eases promotion pause and makes 20 new partners January 6, 2021 Some 20 employees at BDO have finally been promoted to partner at the firm, having had their promotions delayed for six months because of Covid-19. The new partners work across the audit firm’s tax, audit and advisory teams and their promotions are effective from 1 January. A total 470 staff that were due promotions in [...]
FRC: Deloitte allowed Autonomy to ‘present misleading financial position’ January 6, 2021 Deloitte’s audit of scandal-hit UK software firm Autonomy allowed the company to “present a misleading picture of its financial position”, the City watchdog said this morning. The Financial Reporting Council investigated the actions of Deloitte and former partners Richard Knights and Nigel Mercer in relation to their audits of the disgraced tech company’s accounts. Autonomy [...]
Individuals rush to sell assets as capital gains tax bill rockets to £10.1bn December 23, 2020 The UK’s capital gains tax (CGT) bill has hit £10.1bn, up more than fourfold from £2.5bn a decade earlier, prompting people to sell their assets. Despite the increase of nearly £7.5bn in a decade, more CGT could be demanded from the taxpayer. The Office for Tax Simplification recently recommended the Chancellor increase CGT rates in [...]